ChronicleWatch Update / Working for a better Bay Area

Suzanne Pullen

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, July 4, 2004

UPDATE

San Francisco has volunteer Steve Kerekes to thank for helping make the sidewalks around Alta Plaza park safer and cleaner lately. After reading in ChronicleWatch in October about people slipping in slick muck seeping from the park's aging retaining wall, Kerekes offered his time and pressure-washing equipment to help clean it. But because the city doesn't usually allow volunteers to use power tools, Kerekes had to wait until liability issues were resolved. "I had no idea it would take five months," said Kerekes, who lives in Brisbane and owns Curb Appeal Pressure Washing Services. Kerekes said his former employer, philanthropist Phyllis Wattis, taught him the importance of giving back to the city. "She told me if you don't have money, give time," he said. "My family needs my paycheck, but I have the time to help." Kerekes told us that he was motivated by concerns about the elderly who walk around the hilly park, and said that he wishes more people would get involved in solving problems in their communities. In May, the way was finally cleared for Kerekes to begin the cleanup, and he says he'll monitor the sidewalks whenever he works in the area. Parks spokeswoman Becky Ballinger said crews will continue to wash it with bleach each week to combat algae build-up. Alta Plaza is part of a 10-year citywide parks improvement plan, and long-term fixes might be explored in 2006 if funding is available.